Mr Motu...is this for a Rigid Triumph? Will a later 50's internals fit? http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/List...x?id=458771648
Damn you buggers - I've had to pull out a Triumph manual instead of using my fading memory. Yes that's a rigid gearbox, the swingarm has the top adjuster at the top, rigid is at the front of the box. All internals will fit, even a 5 speed, but requires machining ( dunno where or how) Getting rid of the brass bushes and going needle rollers is a good mod - just for the fact of the blind drive side bearing, no need for a leaky frost plug to blank the hole.
Whats a rigid Triumph like to ride....I gather the sprung hub is not an improvement. There is a reason for these questions....I have a ( bodged) frame, some forks, tank, fibreglass front guard, nacelle, 4 speed gear set,wheels and the makings of a motor.....need a long primary case....oil tank...tool box....been collecting bits over the years..... nearly enough for a bobber.....
I have good memories of them - although there's a fair bit of moving around, a sprung seat is the way to go. Sprung weight, unsprung weight - it doesn't mean a thing, there is a whole motorcycle holding that rear wheel on the ground. Go round a corner and hit a few bumps...we might call it wheel patter these day, if you're pushing hard it might step out a bit as the tyre kisses the road surface. There is no kissing with a rigid, there is 400lb of motorcycle slamming that tyre into the road - planted, that's a word describing how a rigid frame motorcycle goes around a corner. Although I've ridden them with rigid seats, both stock and sitting down in the frame as a chop, with a sprung seat the bike just seems to float around under you. Good fun. We went for a ride on the only twisty road we could find in Australia - the Dandenongs, bit of a dorky name for roads like you find in New Zealand. I was riding a Guzzi S3, and there were other Guzzi's and some other bikes too...and our NZ friend brought her rigid T100 along to fill out the numbers. I was out front showing what useless cornering clearance the S3 had, and we had to keep waiting for the T100 to catch up. So I said I'd ride the Triumph so everyone could play up front - and I still had to keep stopping for the others to catch up. I don't know what the others were doing, but that thing hauled arse on a smooth twisty road.
